Safaricom PLC and other mobile money operators have reviewed their charges after the enactment of the Finance Act 2023. M-PESA mobile transfer charges have gone up from 12% to 15%.
At the same time, the excise duty rate for call, SMS, and Internet has gone down from 20% to 15%.
Is Financial inclusion in danger? Will users go back to the cash economy? As we fiddle with taxation in the digital space, is there cost-benefit analysis advising these decisions?